CLASSICS 12G:Intermediate Greek: Euripides' Medea

(Formerly
CLASSGRK 102.) The Medea of Euripides was first performed in 431 BCE at the Great Dionysia of Athens, where it won last place. Euripides¿ vision of the Colchian princess as a spurned spouse and a murderous mother, however, would triumph in the imaginations of Western readers for millennia. In this class, we will study the script and stagecraft of the Medea in the original Greek in order to better appreciate how the artistry of the tragic poet made Medea a source of both admiration and terror. We will read selections from Medea and relevant secondary readings on Greek tragedy and the reception of Euripides after the fifth century. Our primary objective in this class is to achieve fluid reading ability with Euripides¿ vocabulary, syntax, and meter. Secondary goals include revisiting grammar concepts and learning about the historical contexts surrounding Medea¿s production. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

CLASSICS 12L:Intermediate Latin: Petronius and Martial

(Formerly
CLASSLAT 102.) Selections from Petronius "Satyrica" and Martial's epigrams. Our primary goal will be to read these texts in their original Latin with attention to the idiosyncrasies of each author's language and style. We will discuss the literary qualities of the works as well as the cultural contexts in which Petronius and Martial wrote. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

CLASSICS 13G:Intermediate Greek: Homer's Iliad

(Formerly
CLASSGRK 103.) We will read selected episodes from the Iliad in Greek, and the entirety of the poem in translation. Our primary goal will be to master Homeric Greek's syntax, morphology, vocabulary, and meter, though we will also discuss narrative technique, poetic style, and the history of Iliadic scholarship. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

(Formerly
CLASSLAT 103.) Vocabulary, forms and syntax. Discussion of biographical, political, and literary issues in the text. The connection between art and propaganda as you examine how Vergil either contributes to or subverts the vision of Rome's imperial destiny and civilizing mission. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

CLASSICS 14:Greek and Latin Roots of English

(Formerly
CLASSGEN 9) Goal is to improve vocabulary, comprehension of written English, and standardized test scores through learning the Greek and Latin components of English. Focus is on patterns and processes in the formation of the lexicon. Terminology used in medicine, business, education, law, and humanities; introduction to principles of language history and etymology. Greek or Latin not required.

CLASSICS 16N:Sappho: Erotic Poetess of Lesbos (FEMGEN 24N)

(Formerly
CLASSGEN 24N.) Preference to freshmen. Sappho's surviving fragments in English; traditions referring to or fantasizing about her disputed life. How her poetry and legend inspired women authors and male poets such as Swinburne, Baudelaire, and Pound. Paintings inspired by Sappho in ancient and modern times, and composers who put her poetry to music.

CLASSICS 16SC:Memorials, Museums and Memory

The last time you walked past a public monument, did you stop to read the plaque (if there was one) or otherwise contemplate its meaning and commemorative purpose? Your answer may well reflect your familiarity with the terrain in which that monument stood. In any case, for various reasons we will want to discuss, monuments often struggle to convey the meanings intended, if indeed we can reconstruct those original intentions. This difficulty is especially true of monuments made in traditional form, yet more experimental forms are by no means safe from oblivion and indifference. Paradoxically, the longer a monument exists ¿ and some have lasted for millennia ¿ the further it is removed from its original context, a situation which engenders both problems of communication between creator and audience and at the same time rich histories, for objects too can have eventful life-histories.n In this course, both object biographies and their long-term communicatory challenges will be part of a broader discussion. Our task will be to explore the commemorative landscape, including our own campus ¿ established by grieving parents in 1891 with the goal of remembering their fifteen-year-old son, who had died of typhoid while travelling in Italy. Apart from the university per se, statues and a museum were central to the elder Stanfords¿ commemoration of Leland jr. (1868-84). nThrough the tragic Stanford family story and other case studies, we will rethink the very nature of collective memory. What forms has it taken? What difference does materiality make? Why do some scholars insist on a difference between monuments (often triumphalist in character) and memorials (typically more reflective and somber), and is that a feasible distinction in practice?nWe shall discuss such themes with reference to core readings. Beyond that, students will work in groups to focus consistently on selected histories, as determined by collective identities. Students will regularly contribute to class discussions on the basis of these specializations.nBy way of a final project, students will design a memorial of their own choosing. They will motivate their choice of what or whom they are commemorating; likewise they will explain their choice of medium, location and form. The success of these memorials will hinge, in large measure, on the thoughtfulness of their choices and ultimately their ability to engage with viewers. Students will present their evolving projects to each other for formal peer critique (itself graded). Final public presentations of these memorials will be part of the symposium in the final week. nThe course will be timely in several senses: the nationwide remembrance of September 11th, 2001 coincides with the first week of classes; the university celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2016; and more generally emerging technologies both offer and demand new approaches to public commemoration. Sophomore College course, applications required. Submit by April 5, 2016 at
http://soco.stanford.edu .

CLASSICS 17N:To Die For: Antigone and Political Dissent (TAPS 12N)

(Formerly
CLASSGEN 6N.) Preference to freshmen. Tensions inherent in the democracy of ancient Athens; how the character of Antigone emerges in later drama, film, and political thought as a figure of resistance against illegitimate authority; and her relevance to contemporary struggles for women's and workers' rights and national liberation. Readings and screenings include versions of
Antigone by Sophocles, Anouilh, Brecht, Fugard/Kani/Ntshona, Paulin, Glowacki, Gurney, and von Trotta.

CLASSICS 18N:The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (ARTHIST 100N)

Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. n nWhy did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves? Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?" What prompted Homer to claim that "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?n nPainted pottery was essential to the religious and secular lives of the Greeks. Libations to the gods and to the dead required vases from which to pour them. Economic prosperity depended on the export of wine and oil in durable clay containers. At home, depictions of gods and heroes on vases reinforced Greek values and helped parents to educate their children. Ceramic sets with scenes of Dionysian excess were reserved for elite symposia from which those who potted and painted them were excluded.n nSculptors were less lowly but even those who carved the Parthenon were still regarded as "mechanics," with soft bodies and soft minds (Xenophon) "indifferent to higher things" (Plutarch).n nThe seminar addresses these issues. Students will read and discuss texts, write response papers and present slide lectures and gallery talks on aspects of the artist's profession.